Makino Fumito
Makino Fumito (牧野 文人, Makino Fumito) is a non-recurring character in Hajime no Ippo. He is a featherweight professional boxer affiliated with the Sayama Boxing Gym. He fought Itagaki Manabu in his debut match, and again in the All Japan Rookie King Tournament semifinals. Background After becoming a boxer and losing his first two matches, his coach warned him that he would drop him from the gym if he lost his third match in order to prevent injuries.Chapter 363, page 11 Later during his road work, Makino ran into Tsuchiya Atsushi. Makino was asked if he was strong by the boy, to which he did not answer. However, Makino became encouraged to win his next match in order to give Atushi courage for his surgery of which he was scared of.Chapter 563, pages 10-12 History Part I Battle of Hawk Arc At Kōrakuen Hall, Makino faced the debuting Itagaki Manabu as his third match of his career. When the match began, Makino immediately attacked Itagaki, who was able to easily dodge and counterattack. Makino continued to swing wildly, but couldn't touch Itagaki. Not wanting to be let go from his gym, Makino headbutted Itagaki after missing a punch. As his opponent was telling the referee about the illegal move, Makino hit him, causing him to go down. When Itagaki got up, Makino launched an attack, which Itagaki dodged, however, Makino's elbow struck him, making him go down a second time, ending the match in Makino's victory. Part II After the match, Makino believed that he needed to continue to win in order to give Atsushi courage for his surgery. It being the first win in his career, Makino was overjoyed by his victory against Itagaki, but his win was received with scorn by boxing fans who accused Makino of being a cheater. As such, Makino sought to continue winning his fights in hopes of disproving the naysayers, unfortunately ironically developing a tendency to foul opponents. Following a later win, Makino adopted a Hitman Style similar to that used by Mashiba Ryō. His trainer says that he chose this style because he wished to use a more offensive style of boxing, and was also now training significantly harder following his win. The Spirit Of A Weed During the East Japan Rookie King Tournament, after he won against his opponent using Flicker Jabs, he met Itagaki, Makunouchi Ippo and Itagaki Nanako. He lauds the former with passive aggressive comments and openly expressed his jealously of the "elite" like him. As Ippo attempted to ease the tension, Makino takes his leave, but not before stepping on Ippo's foot. While Makino was doing roadwork at a nearby hospital, he stopped to see Atsushi, Makino's only fan. Makino was determined to win in his rematch to give Atsushi courage during his surgery and to show him that anything can be achieved through hard work, even for "weeds" like him. He was later confronted by Iimura Mari, whom he revealed to her that he wishes to be like Ippo, who, through hard work was also able to achieve greatness from nothing. The East Japan Rookie King Tournament semi-finals soon dawns, and Makino attended his bout against Itagaki. Though Makino beguns pressuring his opponent, Itagaki soon learned his rhythm and adapted, countering all of his Flicker Jabs and landing several punches of his own. Makino, had not landed a single solid hit yet, became increasingly infuriated and lost his focus, falling victim to several more of Itagaki's strikes. After the bell rings to signify the end of the first round, Makino's face was already completely swelled. A distraught Makino considered fouling Itagaki, but realizes that he cant for Atsushi's sake. The bell for round 2 sounds and Makino used the rest of his strength and willpower to barrage Itagaki with a futile flurry of wide swings, resulting in Itagaki knocking him down. Makino slumped in despair on the ground as the count begins, realizing the difference in skill between Itagaki and himself. Its not until Atsushi got out of his wheelchair and begged Makino to get up does he decide to muster up the courage to continue fighting. In an attempt to fulfill his promise to Atsushi to win no matter what, Makino begun attempting to foul Itagaki, but the latter was unfazed and continued fighting. Though Makino finally managed to land a clean uppercut against his opponent, it was not enough and he is soon knocked out, losing by a second round KO. In the aftermath of the match, Makino hanged his head in shame. Iimura remarked that he was lucky Atsushi didn't notice the attempted fouls thanks to Itagaki's level of concentration, with Makino realizing that he must have worked just as hard for the fight. Atsushi approached him and remarked that the match inspired him to have courage during the surgery. Flattered by Atsushi's words, Makino told him that he will fulfill his promise to him and do his best for his next match. Match History Appearance Makino is a man with a muscular build, average height, and fair complexion. He has black coloured short unkempt hair with black coloured eyes. His eyebrows are short and sharp, his nose is short, and he has pronounced cheekbones. In the ring, his attire consists of red boxing trunks with "MACK" on the front bottom left and "NOTOYA" on the front centre, along with red boxing shoes with a white vertical stripe. Personality At first, despite having a passion for boxing, Makino was portrayed as an awkward boxer with a meek attitude and a lacking in self-confidence. Prior to Itagaki's rematch against him, Makino's personality changed drastically, becoming unsociable and bitter. However, he was shown to be very friendly and kind towards Atsushi, his only true fan and supporter. After developing the Hitman-Style, Ippo notes Makino as having a similar style to Mashiba as well as a similar in-ring attitude to Sawamura Ryūhei. When he met once again with Itagaki face to face since their first match, his behavior towards him was aggressive and vindictive, also mocking Ippo by stepping on his foot when walking away. Makino is shown to be extremely jealous of the 'elite' class of prestigious boxers, like Itagaki, deeming himself to be a "weed". After winning against his first opponent with a foul, Makino developed a taste for fouling opponents whenever he deemed it necessary and wasn't against breaking the rules for his own gain. Despite this, he deliberately refrained from fouling Itagaki in their rematch due to Atsushi being a spectator, wanting to prove to him that even someone like himself could succeed through hard, honest work. However, he later ended up attempting to foul Itagaki as a last resort. Boxing Abilities Early in his boxing career, he was a fairly unskilled boxer, swinging big, having weak punches and resorting to cheating out of sheer desperation to win. Later, he adopted the Hitman-Style, and developed fast, powerful Flicker Jabs that impressed even Mashiba. Weaknesses Makino is overall a mostly average boxer at worst and a relatively skilled one at best. As such, he has far more trouble when boxing against those with greater experience and a superior skillset to him - the "elite" as he calls them. Despite a large display of willpower to win against Itagaki in his rematch, the latter was simply too strong an opponent for him, being only able to land a single clean hit against him. Gallery Manga Scenes= Makino 001.png Makino vs opponent.png Makino 002.png Makino stepping on Ippo.png Makino reading Boxing Fan Monthly.png Makino Training.png Makino weed comment.png |-| Matches= |-| Anime Scenes= References Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Characters from Tokyo Category:Characters from Japan Category:Boxers Category:Sayama Boxing Gym Category:Active Boxers Category:In Fighters Category:Unorthodox Boxers Category:Featherweights Category:All fights Win by KO